New UN websites & publications
TOPIC OF THE MONTH: Critical Minerals
Critical energy transition minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements are essential components in many of today’s rapidly growing clean energy technologies – from wind turbines and solar panels to electric vehicles and battery storage. Demand for critical minerals is set to almost triple by 2030 as the world transitions from fossil fuels to renewable energy in order to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050.
Source: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/critical-minerals
https://unu.edu/inweh/collection/unu-inweh-report-critical-minerals-water-insecurity-and-injustice
This flagship report presents a comprehensive analysis of the fundamental contradictions at the heart of global sustainability transitions, with a particular focus on water. It examines how the extraction of critical minerals contributes directly to water insecurity, livelihood disruptions, and health risks in many of the world’s most vulnerable regions.
https://unu.edu/inra/news/new-unu-inra-report-critical-minerals
In this new report, UNU-INRA highlights that Africa holds nearly 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves (cobalt, lithium, manganese, copper, nickel, graphite amongst others). It shows that global revenues from copper, nickel, cobalt, and lithium could reach $16 trillion by 2050, with Sub-Saharan Africa positioned for 10%+ of that value. This report launched at COP30 in Belém, shows that pivotal moment for Africa and the Global South to transform mineral wealth into sovereign power, industrialisation, and shared prosperity.
https://unctad.org/publication/critical-minerals-critical-decisions-industrial-policy-energy-transition
The global shift to low-carbon energy is mineral-intensive. Lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements are essential for batteries, renewable power and advanced manufacturing. For developing countries, these critical energy transition minerals offer a pathway to structural transformation but also risk reinforcing dependence on extracting and exporting commodities. This report shows that market forces alone will not deliver inclusive outcomes for mineral-rich developing countries. Given the high concentration of production and processing, along with growing geopolitical and environmental pressures, countries need integrated industrial policies embedded in broader diversification strategies.
https://www.unep.org/resources/report/financing-responsible-supply-energy-transition-minerals-sustainable-development
The financial system, governance and regulation of mineral exploration and mining must be reformed to ensure greater capital flows and a clean energy transition, say the authors of this new report by the UN Environment Programme-hosted International Resource Panel, released on 9 October 2025. With mineral extraction rising to 50% of annual global raw material extraction up from 31% in 1970, financing responsible mining will be critical to a successful and fair energy transition. The report analyses demand, production, trade, and financing of key minerals, highlighting high-concentration regions such as Africa, China, and South America, and presents a series of recommendations for driving finance and investment into responsible mining.
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Crimes%20on%20Environment/ECR25_P2b_Minerals_Crime.pdf
The growing demand for minerals is amplifying the risks of crime, corruption and instability in the mineral supply chain, says this new study from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released on 20 May 2025. In Minerals Crime: Illegal Gold Mining, part two of the Global Analysis on Crimes that Affect the Environment, UNODC examines the motivations driving diverse actors to engage in minerals crime, as well as the destinations of the unprocessed metals and minerals and the proceeds from their trade. Organized crime groups and corporations as well as individual actors are involved in illegal gold mining and trafficking, the study finds. Organized crime groups have increasingly embedded themselves in gold supply chains, attracted by the sector’s high profitability and the rising value of gold. Drug trafficking organizations in Latin America have expanded into illegal gold mining, taking advantage of established drug smuggling routes and infrastructure. Revenues from gold are then reinvested into other criminal operations. In Africa, however, some organized crime groups operate exclusively in gold, while others use gold profits to fund armed activity, challenge state authority or fuel conflict.
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 171, February 2025: Leveraging Critical Energy Transition Minerals: policy pathways for sustainable development
https://desapublications.un.org/policy-briefs/un-desa-policy-brief-no-171-leveraging-critical-energy-transition-minerals-policy
Developing countries with extensive critical energy transition mineral reserves have the potential to harness these resources for economic growth and sustainable development. However, doing so involves significant economic, environmental and social risks. Strong governance, strategic national policies and effective international cooperation are essential to maximize sustainable development benefits and avoid the so-called resource curse.
https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/report_sg_panel_on_critical_energy_transition_minerals_11_sept_2024.pdf
A “how-to guide to help generate prosperity and equality alongside clean power,” the Panel’s report, released on 11 September 2024, outlines seven Guiding Principles and five Actionable Recommendations to embed equity and justice in the race to net-zero emissions.
https://unicri.it/sites/default/files/2024-09/Strategic-Response-Framework-Tackling-Crimes-Critical-Minerals.pdf
This comprehensive framework – developed by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and released on 24 September – outlines a coordinated approach to mitigating the various crimes associated with critical minerals. By empowering national stakeholders, enhancing legal and regulatory frameworks, and promoting international collaboration, UNICRI seeks to address these pressing issues.
https://unece.org/sustainable-energy/publications/guidebook-critical-minerals-sustainable-energy-transition-support
Critical minerals are essential for the energy transition as are intergenerational equity in resource management and the engagement of youth. With this in mind this guidebook was launched on 24 April 2024 at the UNECE Resource Management Week 2024. It serves as a crucial tool to aid policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and civil society to navigate the complex landscape of mineral resources crucial for the global shift toward renewable energy technologies. The guidebook was prepared by the Resource Management Young Member Group (RMYMG) of the UNECE Expert Group on Resource Management.
Further information:
- The UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/critical-minerals
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – Critical Minerals: https://unctad.org/topic/commodities/critical-minerals
- United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) – Critical Raw Materials: https://unece.org/unece-and-sdgs/critical-raw-materials
- United Nations Environment Programme – Critical Energy Transition Minerals: https://www.unep.org/topics/energy/renewable-energy/critical-energy-transition-minerals
- 5 Facts on Critical Minerals and the Waste We Can’t Afford (United Nations University, UNU-EHS, 28 April 2026): https://unu.edu/ehs/article/5-facts-critical-minerals-and-waste-we-cant-afford
- UN calls for fair play in the global race for critical minerals (UN News, 5 March 2026): https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/03/1167084
UN in General
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/happening-the-united-nations
The Spokesperson’s website now includes a platform entitled “Happening at the United Nations”. It serves as a hub for upcoming meetings and events, major observances, Secretary-General and Deputy-General activities and developments across the system.
https://www.un.org/en/beyondGDP/documents
The UN Secretary-General’s independent High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP released this report on 7 May 2026 proposing the first global blueprint for how countries can assess progress that complements Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Expert Group’s report presents a dashboard of globally applicable indicators that provides a new compass of progress for people and planet.
The report responds to a mandate from UN Member States under a 2024 agreement called the Pact for the Future to develop a limited number of country-owned, universally applicable indicators that complement and go beyond GDP.
see also: GDP up, satisfaction down: Why we need a new way to measure progress (UN News, 7 May 2026): https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/05/1167457
https://www.un.org/un80-initiative/en/media/587
This comprehensive guide brings together one-page summaries of all the work packages that together make up the UN80 Initiative Action Plan. It provides comprehensive coverage of all three UN80 Initiative workstreams. Its purpose is to provide Member States with a clear and practical overview of where work packages stand and the pathways to decision-making.
see also: UN80 Initiative: Real progress made on tackling complex issues facing the UN system (UN News, 29 April 2026): https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/04/1167407
https://tinyurl.com/yt84hw93
This discussion paper explores the strategic question of how and from where additional funding can realistically be mobilized. Drawing on longstanding practices across international organizations, it examines a range of alternative funding models, including revenue-generating services, pooled funds, taxes and levies, institutional bonds, and in-kind contributions. Through short case studies, the paper highlights how these mechanisms have emerged, where they have succeeded or faced limitations and what lessons they may offer for the UN system.
The paper concludes with recommendations for UN institutions, Member States, civil society and other stakeholders on how to explore alternative funding strategies in ways that are both politically and institutionally feasible. In an era of constrained public budgets and growing global demands, innovation in institutional finance will be critical to sustaining UN mandates while preserving legitimacy and effectiveness in addressing twenty-first century global challenges.
https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/un-information-integrity-issue-brief-02.pdf
In this new brief, the Department of Global Communications and the Conscious Advertising Network caution that unchecked AI adoption in advertising is accelerating risks across the whole digital information ecosystem. The brief notes that the advertising industry sits at the centre of how information flows online, with its spending decisions influencing which content is produced, amplified and monetised.
see also: AI in advertising risks fuelling information crisis, UN warns (UN News, 29 April 2026): https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/04/1167405
see also: UNRIC Library Backgrounder: Information Integrity – Selected Online Resources on Information Integrity, Misinformation, Disinformation and Hate Speech: https://unric.org/en/unric-library-backgrounder-information-integrity/
Index Translationum (UNESCO)
https://data.unesco.org/explore/dataset/tran001/information/
Created in 1932, the Index Translationum is UNESCO’s oldest database, charting global translation flows and multilingual exchange—now newly accessible as open data.
In addition to publishing the original and translated titles of publications, each entry of the Index Translationum includes the year and country of publication, languages, author names, translator names, and publishers of each title.
2025 marks a significant shift in the accessibility and preservation of the database, with the migration and publication of the Index Translationum from 1978 to 2008 as an openly available dataset in UNESCO’s Datahub.
In addition to the dataset, nearly all editions of the Index Translationum in book form from 1932 to the 2000s are available in full-text online.
https://unric.org/en/unric-library-backgrounder-drones/
This backgrounder provides an overview of special websites from UN entities, as well as selected UN documents and publications.
Economic Growth and Sustainable Development
https://doi.org/10.4060/cd9424en
Acute food insecurity and malnutrition levels remain alarmingly high and deeply entrenched, with crises increasingly concentrated in a core group of countries, according to the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2026, released on 24 April 2026 by the Global Network Against Food Crises. In its tenth edition, the GRFC shows that acute hunger has doubled over the past decade, with two famines declared last year for the first time in the report’s history.
The report reveals that acute food insecurity remains highly concentrated. Ten countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen — accounted for two-thirds of all people facing high levels of acute hunger. Afghanistan, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen experienced the largest food crises both in terms of the share and absolute number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity.
https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/WHO-EURO-2026-12707-52481-81471
WHO/Europe has released this new report assessing the rapidly evolving use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care across the 27 European Union (EU) Member States. The first comprehensive review of its kind, the report reveals strong and consistent momentum across EU Member States, with all 27 countries recognizing improved patient care as a driver of AI development and the majority already deploying AI tools in clinical settings.
The report, produced as part of a multi-year funding agreement with the European Commission, builds on a recent WHO/Europe regional report, published in late 2025, by zooming in on the 27 EU Member States specifically.
Based on data collected between June 2024 and March 2025, the report points to a landscape in which health systems across the region are actively building the foundations needed to harness these technologies safely, equitably and responsibly.
https://unctad.org/topic/debt-and-finance/borrowers-platform
Developing countries took a major step to rebalance the global financial system on 15 April 2026, launching the first-ever Borrowers’ Platform during the IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings, with UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) serving as its secretariat.
The Platform brings together finance ministers and central bank governors from developing countries to strengthen debt management capacity, enhance coordination and amplify their collective voice in global debt discussions.
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/44618
Coastal zones are increasingly at risk from the combined effects of climate change, sea-level rise, intensifying storms, ecosystem degradation, and rapid coastal development. While traditional gray infrastructure has long been used for coastal protection, it is often costly, environmentally damaging, and increasingly insufficient under growing hazard conditions. Nature-based solutions (NBS) such as mangroves, dunes, reefs, and marshes offer a complementary and cost-effective approach to coastal resilience, reducing risks while benefitting biodiversity, livelihoods, and carbon storage. However, NBS are not universally applicable and must be tailored to local ecological, social, and exposure conditions, often in combination with gray infrastructure. The Coastal Catalogue is designed to support the identification of investment opportunities and the integration of NBS into coastal risk management and planning processes, while enabling more informed, scalable, and context-specific decision-making for coastal resilience investments. The Coastal Catalogue organizes solutions into 9 key typologies and provides practical information on benefits, costs, case studies, site suitability, and design and maintenance considerations to help policy makers, planners, and stakeholders identify, prioritize, and integrate coastal NBS into climate and disaster risk management strategies.
https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/reports/cost-of-inaction-afghanistan-2026
Afghanistan risks losing up to 20,000 women teachers and 5,400 healthcare workers by 2030 as restrictions on girls’ education and women’s employment continue, according to this new UNICEF analysis.
It found that female representation in the civil services fell from 21 per cent to 17.7 per cent between 2023 and 2025. It warns that the dwindling number of trained women professionals in schools and hospitals will devastate children’s learning, health outcomes and future opportunities. Restrictions on girls’ and women’s education and work are already costing the country US$84 million annually in lost economic output, with losses compounding over time as they remain blocked from education and employment.
The report warns that removing women from teaching and healthcare services – two sectors where they are permitted to work and critically needed – directly harms children as it will lead to fewer girls in schools and reduced care for women and children. The impact is particularly severe in healthcare, where societal context often prevents women from receiving medical services from men, meaning the declining number of female health workers will directly limit maternal, newborn, and child health services.
https://library.wmo.int/idurl/4/69848
Rapid warming in Europe is reducing snow and ice cover, while dangerously high air temperatures, drought, heatwaves and record ocean temperatures are affecting regions from the Arctic to the Mediterranean. Europe, along with many other regions of the globe, is exposed to increasing impacts – from record heatwaves on land and at sea, to devastating wildfires, and continuing biodiversity loss – with consequences for societies and ecosystems across Europe.
The findings were released on 29 April 2026 within the European State of the Climate (ESOTC) 2025 report, produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which implements the Copernicus Climate Change Service, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report brings together the work of around 100 scientific contributors and provides a comprehensive overview of key changes in climate indicators for the world’s fastest warming continent, including cold environments, marine ecosystems, rivers and lakes, wildfire risk, and more. A wide range of graphics and visuals highlighting key findings from the data are being made available.
https://doi.org/10.4060/cd9394en
The frequency, intensity and duration of extreme heat events have risen sharply over the past half century, with worrying impacts on agrifood systems and landscapes, according to this new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Extreme heat refers to situations where daytime and nighttime temperatures rise above their usual ranges for a protracted period, leading to physiological stress and direct physical damages to food crops, livestock, fish, trees and human beings.
The report examines how extreme heat ripples through agricultural systems and how heatwaves can interact with other climatological variables, including rain, solar radiation, humidity, wind and drought – to trigger compound effects that wreak havoc on individuals and entire ecosystems.
https://financing.desa.un.org/iatf/report/financing-sustainable-development-report-2026-implementing-sevilla-commitment
Development financing trends are going in the wrong direction, the United Nations warned on 9 April 2026. In many areas, progress has not only stalled but is reversing due to weakened global collaboration, rising trade barriers, increased geopolitical tensions, repeated climate-related shocks, and an alarming assault on multilateralism.
The Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2026: Implementing the Sevilla Commitment (FSDR 2026) assesses progress on the Sevilla Commitment — the blueprint for action on financing for sustainable development agreed at the historic Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in 2025. Many of the reforms envisioned under the Sevilla Commitment, including the reform of the international financial architecture, would give developing countries better and more nimble access to the funding they need.
https://unece.org/info/Forests/pub/413494
According to this report released by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe on 6 May 2026, the forest industry is undergoing a radical shift that places it at the center of a regional green transition. The findings indicate that while traditional economic pressures like trade disruptions, stalling GDP and inflation continue to loom, the sector is finding new life through low carbon construction, renewable energy and innovative bio-based products.
Wood is rapidly emerging as a critical anchor for European economic stability as nations pivot toward cost-effective and innovative biobased solutions to combat climate change and navigate market volatility. The report provides an extensive analysis of 16 countries: Armenia, Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
English: https://doi.org/10.54394/00033792
French: https://doi.org/10.54394/00034106
Spanish: https://doi.org/10.54394/00034104
This new International Labour Organization (ILO) report finds that more than half of the world’s economies face governance conditions that create uncertainty for business and investment, highlighting that governance gains are fragile and declines more common than progress.
The report, produced by the ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities, analyses governance trends across 208 economies between 1996 and 2024. It shows that, despite ongoing reform efforts, overall performance has changed little over time, with uneven progress across countries and regions.
http://handle.itu.int/11.1002/pub/82933112-en
This Handbook provides general information about amateur and amateur-satellite services. It also includes a compendium of existing ITU texts of relevance to amateur and amateur-satellite services. This Handbook is intended to present, in one document, information about amateur services for administrations and amateur radio organizations.
https://gateway.euro.who.int/en/datasets/hisgov/
Health information systems are key to well-functioning health systems.
That’s why WHO has launched this new database in April 2026 designed to support policy-makers, experts and the public in countries across the WHO European Region to better understand and improve their health information systems and data governance. The database brings together nearly 70 indicators to provide a clear, accessible overview of how countries collect, manage and use health data.
Co-funded by the European Union, the new database, called Health Information Systems Governance (HISGOV), offers important insights by highlighting progress and current challenges. It aims to help identify where additional investment or attention may be needed.
Intervention Model: How to extend social protection to migrant workers, refugees and other displaced persons in the context of climate change? (ILO Brief)
https://doi.org/10.54394/DKDT7560
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has published this new brief calling on governments and social partners to strengthen universal social protection, including for migrant workers, refugees and displaced people, as part of efforts to address climate change and ensure a just transition for all.
The publication provides practical guidance for policymakers on protecting people affected by climate-related displacement.
It highlights that climate change is increasingly driving human movement and worsening existing vulnerabilities. It reduces access to decent work, raises the risk of poverty, and undermines livelihoods. Social protection systems are therefore essential to strengthen resilience, support adaptation, and ensure a fair transition towards more sustainable economies.
English, French & Spanish: https://lab.ilo.org/world-work-series/lifelong-learning-and-skills-future
As digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI), the green transition, and demographic shifts reshape labour markets worldwide, this new ILO report – released on 5 May 2026 – calls on governments to raise lifelong learning to a central pillar of economic and social policy.
Drawing on new worker surveys, online vacancy analysis, institutional data and a review of 174 studies on what works in training, the report warns that without stronger investment in inclusive learning systems, these transformations risk widening inequalities between and within countries.
https://unece.org/info/publications/pub/412485
This manual is a comprehensive guide designed to empower decision-makers and field managers in the development and implementation of national Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) strategies. It provides a dual-focused approach to ensure both strategic vision and on-the-ground success.
The manual outlines the essential steps for developing a national FLR strategy, from defining a clear vision and goals to establishing robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks. It then provides detailed technical guidelines for effective, on-the-ground execution. This dual approach ensures users are equipped with both the high-level planning knowledge and the specific operational instructions needed to successfully bring FLR projects to life, transforming national plans into tangible, on-the-ground action.
https://unece.org/info/publications/pub/412520
This guide is primarily for national authorities with responsibility for agreeing and delivering policies related to walking. These case studies show the role of national governments in supporting walkable towns, cities and communities. Authorities are encouraged to learn from these inspiring examples and explore how they might be adapted, funded and implemented in their own national context.
Observatory on Border Crossing Points of the Gulf Countries (UNECE)
https://gis.unece.org/portal/apps/sites/#/observatory-on-border-crossing-points-of-the-gulf-countries
In order to provide transparency on available routes and enable streamlined planning of cargo along inland routes in the region, UNECE announced the activation of an Observatory on Border Crossing Points of the Gulf Countries. This new digital platform provides data on border crossings and TIR processing points originating from the customs authorities of the respective countries, as provided under normal circumstances in the International TIR Data Bank.
The observatory offers information about the countries of the Gulf themselves, as well as about their neighbors which are also Contracting Parties to the UN TIR Convention, including Syria, Jordan, Türkiye, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan.
https://doi.org/10.54677/XZIC3423
World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves, and Global Geoparks form a unique global network of more than 2,260 sites across over 13 million km². These living landscapes support the livelihoods of some 900 million people worldwide —around 10% of the global population, including many Indigenous Peoples and local communities— while harbouring a significant share of global biodiversity and contributing to climate regulation.
This first global assessment shows that UNESCO-designated sites are delivering tangible results for both people and nature, even in the face of increasing pressures. They represent a resilient model in which human well-being and environmental protection advance together, and offer practical, place-based responses to the intertwined challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
English: https://unece.org/info/THE-PEP/pub/413768
French: https://unece.org/fr/info/publications/pub/413768
Prioritizing child- and youth-friendly mobility is essential for supporting sustainable development, health and well-being amongst younger populations, improving traffic safety, ensuring equitable access to transport, and for addressing social, infrastructural and gender-related disparities.
This policy paper on child- and youth-friendly mobility has been prepared by the Partnership on Child- and Youth-friendly Mobility under the Transport, Health and Environment Pan-European Programme (THE PEP). It invites national policymakers to recognize the long-term value of investing in child- and youth-friendly mobility. It presents data and research findings on the mobility behaviour of children and youth and its implications; it highlights the health, safety, social and environmental benefits of sustainable, independent and active mobility; and it introduces key policy areas to support more inclusive and forward-looking transport strategies.
https://www.ilo.org/publications/psychosocial-working-environment-global-developments-and-pathways-action
More than 840,000 people die each year from health conditions linked to psychosocial risks, such as long working hours, job insecurity, and workplace harassment, according to this new global report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). These work-related psychosocial risks are mainly associated with cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders, including suicide.
The report also finds that these risks account for nearly 45 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost annually, reflecting years of healthy life lost due to illness, disability, or premature death, and are estimated to result in economic losses equivalent to 1.37 per cent of global GDP each year.
The report, highlights the growing impact of how work is designed, organized, and managed on workers’ safety and health. It warns that psychosocial risk factors—including long working hours, job insecurity, high demands with low control, and workplace bullying and harassment—can create harmful working environments if not properly addressed.
https://doi.org/10.54678/YJWP8855
UNESCO and the Thomson Reuters Foundation launched this global report “Responsible AI in practice” on 31 March 2026 based on information gathered from 3,000 companies about the Artificial Intelligence-related adoption and strategies. It finds that, as AI development and adoption accelerates rapidly in the private sector, nearly half of the companies (44%) reported having an AI strategy. One in ten companies is also publicly committed to adhering to an AI governance framework.
https://unctad.org/strait-of-hormuz-dashboard
UNCTAD has launched the Strait of Hormuz dashboard. The platform brings together regularly updated indicators on shipping, food, energy and finance, helping users monitor how shocks are evolving and compare them with past crises such as COVID-19 and the supply disruptions following the start of the war in Ukraine.
The dashboard is designed to show not only individual pressures, but how they can reinforce one another. Higher energy costs can raise fertilizer and food prices. Higher transport costs can push up import bills. Tighter financial conditions can reduce countries’ ability to respond.
https://w3.unece.org/sdg2026/
This publication provides the 2026 progress assessment on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), based on the data available in the United Nations Global SDG Indicators Database.
The assessment presented for the entire UNECE region and separately for the 17 UNECE countries participating in technical cooperation programmes of the United Nations. The results identify the SDG targets that the UNECE region is on track to achieve by 2030 as well as targets where progress needs to accelerate or where the current trend needs to be reversed.
The publication contains stories provided by agencies and United Nations country teams participating in the Regional Coordination Group on Data and Statistics for Europe and Central Asia, and by UNECE programmes. These stories show concrete ways in which progress towards SDGs is made in the region.
UNEN Working Paper No. 2: From Intent to Implementation: Behavioral Science for Development
https://www.un.org/en/unen/page/working-papers
The United Nations Economist Network (UNEN) has published Working Paper No. 2 that explores how behavioral science offers a practical, evidence based framework to turn policy and resources into real world progress on accelerating the SDGs.
https://doi.org/10.4060/cd8905en
Forests employ approximately 42 million people worldwide, with women accounting for one quarter of the workforce, according to new research from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Thünen Institute of Forestry.
Published on 14 April 2026 it presents fresh estimates that help close critical data gaps in global and regional forest-sector employment between 2011 and 2022.
The joint paper draws on annual data for the sector and its subsectors for 182 countries, representing 99 percent of the world’s forest area.
The study also presents the first global sex-disaggregated employment estimates for the forest sector, revealing that women account for nearly 10.6 million jobs, or 25 percent of forest-sector employment, and highlighting persistent disparities between women and men across regions. The widest disparity was found in Europe, where 1.8 percent of men and only 0.5 percent of women were employed in the forest sector in 2022. By contrast, these disparities were narrower in Africa, the Americas and Asia.
English: https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/water
French: https://www.banquemondiale.org/ext/fr/water
Spanish: https://www.bancomundial.org/ext/es/water
The World Bank Group, in partnership with multilateral development banks, development finance institutions and key partners, on 15 April 2026 launched Water Forward, a global platform to help improve water security for 1 billion people by 2030. The platform will align policy reforms, financing, and partnerships to expand reliable water services and strengthen systems against droughts and floods—essential conditions for job creation.
Water underpins health, food systems, energy, and an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide; yet 4 billion people experience water scarcity. In many countries, unclear policies, weak regulations, and financially unsustainable utilities have slowed progress and deterred investment in the sector. Water Forward aims to address these challenges by helping developing countries build stronger, more reliable water systems that can unlock productivity, support livelihoods, and enable private investment. The initiative will support reforms to strengthen institutions, improve financial performance, and develop investment-ready projects.
https://www.undrr.org/publication/documents-and-publications/when-digital-systems-fail-expert-report-hidden-risks-our
This expert report examines how digital infrastructure, now central to essential services such as healthcare, finance, and emergency response, is creating new forms of systemic risk through increasing interdependence. Critical digital disruptions, whether driven by natural hazards, infrastructure failure, or systemic interdependencies, can spill over at a speed and scale that existing governance frameworks are not yet designed to manage. A large-scale, escalating failure of critical digital systems, a ‘digital pandemic’, is a plausible scenario that current management frameworks are not yet designed to address.
https://www.undp.org/publications/who-pays-price-gender-inequality-and-sovereign-debt
Who Pays the Price? is a comprehensive study on the relationship between sovereign debt and gender inequality. Produced under UNDP’s EQUANOMICS initiative, the research analysed data from 85 developing countries between 1990 and 2022. It finds that when countries move from moderate to high debt servicing, the equivalent of 55 million women’s jobs are at stake and maternal mortality increases by 32.5 per cent, equivalent to 67 additional deaths per 100,000 live births.
Workers’ exposure to AI: What indicators tell us – and what they don’t (ILO)
https://tinyurl.com/w5camrrh
This new research brief from the International Labour Organization (ILO) examines how artificial intelligence (AI) exposure indicators are used to assess potential impacts on jobs, highlighting both their value and their limitations.
As interest in generative AI (GenAI) grows, exposure indicators are increasingly used to estimate which tasks and occupations could be automated or transformed. However, the ILO cautions that these measures should not be interpreted, on their own, as predictions of job losses or labour market outcomes.
The brief shows that results vary depending on how exposure is measured. Earlier automation-based approaches pointed to lower-skilled, routine jobs as most at risk. More recent AI capability-based measures instead identify higher-skilled, cognitive occupations — including roles in business, finance, computing and education — as among the most exposed.
World Economic Outlook: Global Economy in the Shadow of War, April 2026 (IMF)
https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2026/04/14/world-economic-outlook-april-2026
The latest World Economic Outlook reports slowing global growth and renewed inflationary pressures. Policies need to be agile, carefully manage the trade-offs involved in ramping up defense spending, and lay the foundation for a sustained recovery.
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/44655
Understanding and accurately measuring societal progress is crucial for guiding policy and development efforts. This paper introduces a new method to measure societal progress that is comparable across different stages of development, time periods, and indicators. The paper utilizes this method to analyze six key indicators of development with cross-country data from 1950 and finds that the world is developing at its slowest pace in 75 years. This slowdown has already caused large development losses and will cause global poverty to increase if it continues. The paper identifies 54 countries that are more than 100 years away from reaching standards associated with graduating to developed country status if they continue at their current pace. The framework can be used to set development targets at various levels of ambition for every country and globally. The method involves specific data requirements, which means it is not suitable in all contexts.
https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/msite/wmr-2026-interactive/
Access to safe and regular migration pathways continues to support economic growth and development worldwide, according to this new report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) released on 5 May 2026. during the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) week in New York.
It shows that restricting these pathways does not stop migration but instead shifts it into more irregular and dangerous routes, increasing risks for migrants and costs for States, while limiting the broader benefits of migration.
International Peace and Security
https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/document-library/action-peacekeeping-eighth-progress-report
This 8th A4P+ Progress Report was produced by the Office of the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. It is the result of a biannual reporting exercise in which United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping missions and relevant departments based at UN Headquarters contribute. The report speaks to challenges and progress made through the UN’s efforts to advance A4P+ and strengthen UN Peacekeeping more broadly. The report covers the period between May 2025 and October 2025, and data collection took place in November and December 2025, unless otherwise noted.
https://www.undp.org/sudan/publications/beyond-conflict-report
When armed conflict erupted in April 2023, Sudan was already counted among the world’s most fragile states. Three years later, the statistics have grown harder to absorb as each one adds another human life lost, another family displaced, another child out of school, another community mourning loved ones or slipping into poverty.
Nearly 6.9 million Sudanese were pushed into extreme poverty in 2023 alone, and as a direct consequence of the fighting. Per capita income has fallen to levels not seen since 1992. Extreme poverty is now worse than at any point in the 1980s.
To understand the true cost, this new report from UNDP and the Institute for Security Studies, released just before the third anniversary of the war, has modelled where Sudan would be today had the fighting never started.
It makes for depressing reading but also poses a challenge; where do we go from here? What can be done now to minimize suffering? And are we ready for peace when it finally arrives?
https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2026/04/advocacy-brief-the-cost-of-war-in-gaza-on-women-and-girls
Six months after the ceasefire in Gaza, women and girls continue to face severe and persistent risks, as humanitarian needs remain critical and recovery conditions remain fragile. A new analysis published by UN Women on 17 April 2026 shows that more than 38,000 women and girls—including over 22,000 women and 16,000 girls—were killed in Gaza between October 2023 and December 2025, representing an average of at least 47 women and girls killed per day.
Despite the ceasefire announced in October 2025, reports indicate that killings of women and girls have persisted in recent months, underscoring that the threats to their lives remain ongoing.
The report also highlights that nearly 11,000 women and girls sustained injuries resulting in lifelong disabilities.
The actual number of casualties is likely higher, as many bodies remain trapped under rubble, while the collapse of health information systems has significantly constrained the documentation of deaths and injuries.
https://www.undp.org/publications/debris-and-explosive-ordnance-guide
This guidance provides a practical framework for managing debris contaminated with explosive ordnance in post-conflict environments, particularly in densely populated urban areas. Recognizing that debris removal at scale is primarily a civil engineering activity, the guidance outlines how explosive ordnance risk can be effectively managed through targeted EOD support rather than full clearance. It emphasizes that debris management is inherently not risk-free and promotes a risk-based approach informed by systematic operational data. Drawing on lessons from multiple conflict settings, the guidance supports practitioners in balancing safety considerations with the urgent need for rapid debris removal to enable humanitarian access, early recovery, and reconstruction.
https://www.undp.org/publications/evidence-prevention
The “evidence for prevention” initiative is a UNDP effort to document knowledge and lessons learned on conflict and crisis prevention. The study is composed of two parts: Part 1 reviews nationally led prevention and peace strategies in 15 countries with a specific focus on three cases, namely Mauritania, Norway, and Kenya. Part 2 reviews UNDP’s contribution to prevention efforts through programmatic support in eight country cases.
Drawing on diverse settings, the study illustrates how national prevention works in practice and what enables it to succeed. The qualitative evidence is not presented to define a universal blueprint, but to highlight and offer transferable principles and practices that can inform risk-informed development, peacebuilding, and governance reforms.
The study highlights how combining political inclusion, trusted institutions, socio-economic opportunity, and anticipatory governance can address structural and emerging drivers of instability.
https://collections.unu.edu/view/UNU:10589#viewMetadata
The Charter of the United Nations (UN) provides the Security Council (SC) with “primary responsibility” for international peace and security (Article 24); however, it also empowers the General Assembly (GA) to play a significant role in the maintenance of peace and security. Over the past 80 years, the GA has engaged with a wide range of peace and security matters, including responding to “acts of aggression”, the outbreak or escalation of internal conflict and other use of force situations. The GA has responded to such situations with a range of measures, including calling for ceasefires or the withdrawal of forces, supporting good offices or mediation efforts, and calling attention to international law violations and humanitarian needs. The GA has also played an important role in keeping prolonged conflicts or crises on the agenda, calling attention to continued human rights or humanitarian issues, and using its convening power to address long-term, structural drivers of conflict. This research study is part of a follow-on initiative to the 2024 Assembly for Peace: A Digital Handbook on the UN General Assembly’s Past Practice on Peace and Security. This study builds on the learning from the second chapter of the Handbook on “use of force” with consideration of a greater number of situations (to a total of 46), five additional case studies in the annex, and a more systematic analysis of when and how the GA typically responds to conflict outbreaks or other use of force situations. The analysis also draws linkages between use of force responses and the other practice areas in the 2024 Handbook, such as those on good offices, accountability initiatives and sanctions, and incorporates new material analysing GA attention to humanitarian issues as part of its conflict response.
Development of Africa
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/44608
Africa trades as much as East Asia relative to GDP but without the structural transformation. The problem lies not just in the volume of trade, but in its composition and direction: exports remain concentrated in raw commodities destined for external markets, while intra-African trade, more diversified and more manufacturing-intensive accounts for only 15 to 20 percent of the total. Regional integration is a structural requirement for transformation. Yet progress has stalled, not for lack of agreements, but due to shallow commitments, weak implementation, and fragmented production and trade systems. This publication offers a new analytical and operational framework organized around four interdependent pillars.
Human Rights
https://libraryresources.unog.ch/c.php?g=733729
The UN Human Rights Library has launched this new e guide on Human Rights and Technology.
Digital technologies are reshaping the way human rights are exercised, enabling access to information, freedom of expression, participation, and mobilization. But technologies can pose serious risks, including surveillance, censorship, algorithmic bias, and automated decision making that may undermine human rights.
The new e guide offers curated access to essential materials that explore these opportunities and challenges, supporting research, learning, and informed debate.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/research-papers/cedaw-based-legal-review-convention-elimination-all-forms-discrimination
This Resource Paper is a legal review of the compliance of key measures introduced by Afghanistan’s de facto authorities since August 2021 with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It is intended as a resource for national and international actors seeking to understand whether the measures introduced by the de facto authorities comply with Afghanistan’s obligations under CEDAW. It also establishes a baseline from which Afghanistan’s progressive compliance with CEDAW provisions could be assessed in the future. Undertaken jointly by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), this legal review maps each measure in relation to the provisions of CEDAW and its foundational principles of non-discrimination and State obligations. Where applicable, General Recommendations and Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on CEDAW are included to supplement the legal review of each selected measure.
https://www.unicef.org/child-alert/children-under-threat-darfur
Twenty years after Darfur captured global attention as violence devastated communities and displaced millions in Sudan, children in the region are again trapped in a catastrophic crisis – but with less international focus and aid, UNICEF warned in this new Child Alert released on 27 April 2026.
The report highlights how Sudan’s ongoing conflict has reignited large-scale violence, mass displacement, acute hunger and grave violations against children across Darfur. As in 2005, homes have been burned, markets attacked, schools and health facilities damaged or destroyed, and families forced to flee – but today the scale of needs is greater, and the global outrage is far more constrained.
Deaths and Displacement in Lebanon: Update on the Human Rights Situation in Lebanon (2-22 March 2026) / OHCHR Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA)
https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/deaths-and-displacement-lebanon-update-human-rights-situation-lebanon
This update covers the human rights situation in Lebanon during the first three weeks of the major escalation between the armed group Hezbollah and Israel occurring since 2 March 2026, during which at least 1,029 people were killed, 2,786 injured, and more than one million persons displaced in Lebanon, according to the Government of Lebanon. Hezbollah rockets fired on residential areas in Israel over that period resulted in civilian injuries and damage to residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure.
Digital Readiness Toolkit for National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI / UNDP)
https://www.undp.org/publications/digital-readiness-toolkit-national-human-rights-institutions
The NHRI Digital Readiness Toolkit aims to improve the digitalization capacity of NHRIs. The toolkit will be centered around a comprehensive checklist to assist NHRIs in assessing their digital readiness by providing key technical guidance on how to establish safe and secure, comprehensive digital systems to fulfill their mandate.
https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/gender-alert-2-impacts-military-hostilities-between-afghanistan-and-pakistan-women-and-girls-april-2026
This Gender Alert was developed by Afghanistan’s Operational Gender Coordination Group, in collaboration with the Regional Operational Coordination Group for the eastern region. It draws on preliminary updates, information and reports from women’s organizations, women humanitarian actors and the Afghan Women’s Advisory Group. Given the on-going active hostilities, which continue to restrict mobility and access to affected areas, the analysis is based on data that could be collected without compromising the safety of assessment teams.
https://www.undp.org/publications/monitoring-right-healthy-environment-tool-national-human-rights-institutions-r2he-tool
The R2HE Tool supports National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in bridging the legal, policy, and practice gaps that exist between human rights and environmental systems. As human rights and the environment are deeply interlinked, the Tool helps NHRIs and other actors assess national conditions of the R2HE using the adaptable “TREE” structure, allowing them to evaluate the relevant Themes, Rules, Enforcement and oversight, and actual Environmental harms. It underscores that international and legal recognition alone is not sufficient – a structured approach that integrates international standards with national contextualization processes is critical to translating legal commitments into on-the-ground realities.
By offering practical and context-sensitive guidance on monitoring both the substantive and procedural elements of the right, the Tool enables NHRIs to identify specific environmental harms and evaluate the effectiveness of local mechanisms. In doing so, it has a catalytic impact on core NHRI mandates, empowering NHRIs to use collected data to handle complaints, launch investigations, protect Environmental Human Rights Defenders, and ensure access to justice, redress, and accountability for communities most disproportionately impacted by environmental violations.
https://tinyurl.com/2carauup
Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, UN Women, The Nerve, and partners released this new report highlighting the growing and increasingly sophisticated forms of online violence faced by women in public life—particularly women journalists and media professionals. According to the report, 12 per cent of women human rights defenders, activists, journalists, media workers, and other public communicators report having experienced the non-consensual sharing of personal images, including intimate or sexual content. Six per cent say they have been victims of “deepfakes,” while nearly one in three have received unsolicited sexual advances through digital messaging. The report reveals that such abuse is often deliberate and coordinated, designed to silence women in public life while undermining their professional credibility and personal reputations.
https://tinyurl.com/muyjf55m
Advancing and strengthening gender-transformative and disability-inclusive care and support systems is fundamental to the full and effective enjoyment of human rights. Efforts to transform care and support systems must actively and systematically advance non-discrimination and gender equality across society.
Achieving this requires identifying who is excluded or discriminated against, understanding how and why, and recognizing those experiencing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. It also requires pinpointing inequalities in care and support outcomes and opportunities, as well as patterns of discrimination in laws, policies, and practices. The goal is to prioritize these efforts to support the hard-to-reach and make the invisible visible.
This policy paper provides key insights into the intersection of gender and disability within care and support environments. It emphasizes that developing comprehensive and inclusive care systems is essential for promoting gender equality and protecting the rights of both care recipients and caregivers, especially persons with disabilities. Acknowledging that care needs evolve throughout a person’s life, the paper underscores the importance of adopting a life-course approach when designing and implementing care systems.
Humanitarian Affairs
https://unescwa.org/publications/conflict-shockwaves-escalation-crisis-arab-region
The present brief assesses the impacts of the escalating war in the Arab region. Losses could rise from $63 billion within two weeks to nearly $150 billion in one month (about 3.7% of regional gross domestic product), weakening growth, straining fiscal stability and intensifying humanitarian pressures in a region where 210 million people live in conflict-affected settings and 82 million require assistance.
While Gulf economies are facing the largest aggregate losses, more vulnerable countries, including Lebanon, are likely to face the most severe consequences. The brief highlights the need for stronger regional preparedness and coordination to contain spillovers and protect essential services and supply chains.
https://palestine.un.org/en/314090-final-gaza-rapid-damage-and-needs-assessment
The UN and European Union issued a joint warning on 20 April 2026 that human development across Gaza has been set back by a staggering 77 years with $71.4 billion needed over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction.
That’s according to the final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), jointly conducted with the UN-partnered World Bank.
The assessment says $26.3 billion will be needed in the first 18 months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support economic recovery.
https://hungermap.wfp.org/
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) released on 16 April 2026 its next-generation platform, HungerMap Live, a powerful digital monitoring and intelligence capability that integrates a wide range of food security data and analysis with predictive modelling to help fight hunger in more than 50 countries.
At a time of rising food security needs and limited funding for humanitarian action, HungerMap Live provides the most complete and updated picture of hunger in the world’s most vulnerable countries.
HungerMap Live offers AI-assisted forecasting capabilities of projected food needs in WFP designated Hunger Hotspots – 16 countries with populations already struggling with catastrophic hunger. Studies have shown that early warning of emerging food security issues can reap tremendous cost savings and operational efficiencies. In fact, WFP has seen first-hand that every dollar invested in its anticipatory action programs, reaps a minimum of seven dollars in savings.
Military Escalation in the Middle East: Impact Analyses (UNDP)
https://www.undp.org/publications/military-escalation-middle-east-impact-analyses
A short lived military escalation in the Middle East could generate profound and widespread socio economic impacts across the Arab States region. The analyses presented in this brief provide scenario-based estimates of potential socio-economic and human development impacts of military escalation in the Middle East, since 28 February 2026, on the Arab States region.
https://www.unhcr.org/media/settlement-terminology-displacement-settings-guidance-unhcr-operations
This document has been prepared by UNHCR to clarify key settlement related terms and approaches used in displacement contexts. It explains how globally recognized terminology related to spaces where forcibly displaced people settle is understood and applied in UNHCR operations, and outlines settlement-related approaches used by partners, including their applicability, complementarities, and limitations. In addition, it offers guidance on where the use of each approach is recommended- and where it is not.
Beyond clarifying terminology, the document aims to encourage a shift in mindset toward more coherent, integrated, people-centered, and forward-looking approaches in the way settlement planning is understood and practiced in displacement contexts.
The document is intended for UNHCR staff, government counterparts, partners, and other practitioners involved in settlement planning, coordination, programming, and policy dialogue. For brevity, “forcibly displaced people” refers collectively to asylum-seekers, refugees, IDPs, and stateless persons.
Social Protection for Food Security and Nutrition: a Business Case (WFP)
https://www.wfp.org/publications/social-protection-food-security-and-nutrition-business-case
The publication argues for stronger investment in food security and nutrition-sensitive social protection to address worsening global hunger and malnutrition, which disproportionately affect women and children. It emphasizes that achieving nutrition security requires more than food access, including diet quality, care practices, health services, and water and sanitation.
https://www.undrr.org/publication/documents-and-publications/teaching-resilience-stop-disasters-game-teachers-guide
This Teacher’s Pack supports the use of the Stop Disasters online game as a practical way to introduce disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience in the classroom. Developed by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the game places students in the role of a community planner making real-world trade-offs—then seeing how those choices shape impacts when a hazard strikes. It provides an accessible starting point for exploring core ideas such as risk, exposure, vulnerability, and prevention.
This pack includes five core elements: 1. a classroom-ready learning sequence, 2. a short tutorial explaining how to play the game, 3. hazard factsheets to deepen understanding and support discussion, 4. an expanded glossary of related terms, 5. additional classroom posters are available to download and print.
https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/122291
This report examines the scale and characteristics of refugees projected to remain in host countries between the end of 2026 and the end of 2029, drawing on agent-based modelling developed by UNHCR and Brunel University of London and complemented by findings from UNHCR’s seventh Intentions Survey. It then highlights how the transition challenge reflects a structural mismatch between who is likely to remain, what they intend to do and the legal pathways currently available in many contexts. The report concludes with recommendations to support orderly, protection-centred transitions at scale, strengthening outcomes for refugees and host countries while supporting Ukraine’s human capital and recovery capacity.
Justice and International Law
https://www.undp.org/publications/climate-justice-youth-guide-legal-responsibility-policy-action-and-accountability
Climate justice is increasingly recognized as a matter of rights, equity, and accountability. Yet young people, who are disproportionately affected by climate change, continue to face structural barriers to influencing climate decision making and securing remedies for climate related harm. Despite growing youth leadership in climate advocacy, policy engagement, and litigation, participation has not consistently translated into meaningful influence, implementation, or accountability.
This guide responds to this gap by advancing youth legal advocacy as an enabling pathway for climate action. Grounded in climate, human rights, and environmental law, the Guide frames legal empowerment as a tool to complement policy engagement, community mobilization, and institutional reform. Central to the Guide is the Climate Justice Pathway, a practical, rights based methodology that supports young people in identifying climate related harms, linking them to relevant rights and corresponding duties and obligations, and navigating mechanisms for action and accountability across local, national, and global systems.
https://unicri.org/Publication-Decoding-Transparency-How-to-Foster-Public-Trust-in-Responsible-AI-Innovation-in-Law-Enforcement
Public trust is the bedrock of legitimate, effective law enforcement. Its importance grows when law enforcement agencies adopt AI systems. Public attitudes towards AI in policing remain cautious, and trust in law enforcement agencies can strongly influence whether the public accepts new technologies. Therefore, it is up to law enforcement agencies to act effectively and, above all, fairly when making decisions about whether, when and how to adopt and implement AI systems.
Transparency – through clear, open communication about AI systems and meaningful public engagement – is essential to improving trust in how law enforcement agencies use AI systems, safeguarding human rights, enabling scrutiny and enhancing system quality, as well as encouraging sustainable adoption. Yet transparency is commonly challenged by organizational cultures, operational confidentiality, vendor restrictions and limited resources, among other obstacles.
This report offers comprehensive guidance to help law enforcement decision-makers and related actors build and maintain public confidence, through transparency during the responsible implementation of AI systems.
English: https://doi.org/10.18356/9789211548082
French: https://doi.org/10.18356/9789211548105
This book has been published to mark the eightieth anniversary of the inaugural sitting of the ICJ, held on 18 April 1946 at the Peace Palace in The Hague. Produced entirely by the Registry, it has been designed specifically with the general public in mind and describes the Court, its role and its activities in clear and accessible language, with the aim of fostering a better understanding of the institution and providing answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Court. Readers will find information on how the Court functions, with each short chapter covering a different facet of the institution. They will learn about the history of the Court, about its Registry and its judges, about the entities that can participate in proceedings before it, as well as the principles governing its judicial activity and the contribution made by the Court to certain areas of international law. In publishing this new book for the general public, the Registry wishes to shed fresh light on the work of the Court while at the same time celebrating what the institution has accomplished since its creation, and paying tribute to all those who have contributed to its success over the past 80 years.
Drug Control, Crime Prevention and Counter-terrorism
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/waste-crime-water-pollution.html
Part 3a of the Global Analysis on Crimes that Affect the Environment focuses on Waste Crime and Trafficking. Illegal waste disposal or trade can be lucrative when waste management and disposal services are offered at prices below the costs of following the processes and procedures required by law. This reduces the costs for those who need to dispose of waste, as well as for the disposal service providers who do not follow the law. This can take place domestically or transnationally and involve waste management companies, waste brokers, consignees, transport companies as part of corporate or organized crime. The five main waste categories by number of internationally recorded cases of waste trafficking under the Basel Convention between 2016 and 2023 are electrical and electronic waste (e-waste), mixed waste, end-of-life vehicles and engines, plastic, and metal and metal-bearing wastes. The data, both for transnational illegal trade and domestic waste crimes, are limited and geographically skewed meaning the overall picture of waste crime and trafficking is likely incomplete. However, Part 3a provides a global state of knowledge on what is understood about the actors, modus operandi, vulnerabilities, supply chain, and responses to waste crime and trafficking.
Newsletter Archive: https://unric.org/en/unric-info-point-library-newsletter-archive